Food & Recipes

Throughout human history, sharing a meal has been one of the most important ways to bond with one another. In fact, instituting regularly scheduled dinners is one of the most important things a family can do for the health and happiness of their children. Seriously, it's a big deal to kids.
But routines do have a nasty habit of becoming...routine. We put together a free Escape Adulthood Guide with some heaping portions of simple, inexpensive ideas for making mealtime more fun and keeping Adultitis out of the kitchen.
You can download it here. Enjoy! …

It can be easy to think of country clubs as the sort of places where Adultitis might like to hang out. Granted, it’s not a windowless cube farm, but it can invite a particular strain of Adultitis that implores us to take ourselves a little too seriously and make sure we don’t get our princess dress wet.
But Chef Brian at the Rockford Country Club is a Champion of Childhood who’s keeping Adultitis on its toes. In celebration of back to school season, Brian created a menu that put some epicurean twists on old childhood favorites, a “culinary homage to cafeteria classics.” Here are some of the things he came up with:
A beautiful, creamy, scratch-made grilled cheese & tomato soup with a grilled cheese crouton.
A salad with bacon, pistachios and cranberry Jell-O croutons. (Yup, you read that right: Jell-O croutons!)
Thai PB and J pork chop with jasmine rice and vegetable spring roll.
Lobster mac & cheese. (Eat it, Kraft.)
“Fish sticks” featuring Chilean sea bass, …

When you’re a kid, dressing up all fancy for dinner is exciting. Although it can be fun for grown-ups too, it doesn’t take long for Adultitis to creep in when one begins to worry about which fork to use or whether or not you have spinach in your teeth. The premise of an Olde Timey Dinner -- one of the highlights from the 2014 Escape Adulthood Summit -- is to keep the fun and ditch the pretense.
You don’t need to attend an Escape Adulthood Summit to experience the fun of Ye Olde Timey Dinner. Here are some tips for hosting your own:
WHAT to EAT
You can serve whatever you want, but the most important thing is to use the good china. If you need some convincing, read this. Even Kraft Macaroni & Cheese takes on gourmet status when served on fancy plates. (If you don’t have any fancy plates, just put the lights down low and light a few candles — instant fancy!)
If you need some inspiration, we had fun putting a childlike spin on the traditional seven-course format with the …

If you’ve been around here for any length of time, you certainly know of our proclivity for Ugly Treats. We wholeheartedly encourage people to make disgusting-looking cookies, cakes, and other desserts...just for fun.
Well, an astute reader recently reminded me that dessert doesn’t have to be the only food group up for an ugly makeover. She pointed me to an article highlighting 21 Truly Upsetting Vintage Recipes. Below are a few of my favorites:
Liver Sausage Pineapple
Imagine mixing together liver sausage, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, mayonnaise and gelatin into the shape of a pineapple. Then imagine the people you made it for hating you forever.
Monterey Soufflé Salad
This one looks totally great; I'm just not a fan of pimentos. Or mixing seafood and lemon Jell-O. But that's just me.
Super Salad Loaf
If you want to be happy when company comes...then don't make this.
Granted, each of these dishes look like they’ve been beaten repeatedly with the ugly …

About once a month, the parents would pull out a bunch of unusual kitchen utensils and pile them on the table. Things like spatulas, spaghetti forks, soup ladles, whisks, potato mashers and giant serving spoons were on display. Each child was instructed to select one item from the pile.
And then they would have to eat their entire dinner using just that utensil.
To make things even more interesting, the mother kept the dinner menu a secret.
This is an idea that I got from an elderly couple in Virginia several years back. Their kids loved it so much, that now that they're older, they do it with the grandkids. We've fondly nicknamed it "Spatula City."
It's a simple concept, really. But as usual, the best ones usually are.
If you've ever been to one of my speaking programs, you've probably heard this idea. The big question is, have you tried it? …

What do you get when you mix geology students and Jell-O? Amazing Adultitis-fighting fun to inspire us all!
When Meredith Rhodes Carson was studying geology at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, one of the highlights was the annual Jell-O Cook-Off in which contestants created geologically-inspired, gelatin-infused masterpieces. The photo at right is a copy of a stained glass window in Weeks Hall on campus. Some of the categories included: Tallest Jell-O, Best Representation of a Faculty Member, Most Wisconsin (one winning entry was actually made with beer), and Most Aerodynamic. (One infamous entry, a drumlin-shaped Jell-O with Rice Krispies in it, was launched off of the balcony of Weeks Hall FOUR times before complete destruction.) The only real rules was that entries had to be primarily Jell-O, not necessarily edible.
We strongly advocate the making of ugly cakes and cookies; why not bring Jell-O into the mix?
In talking to Meredith after one of my presentations, I was …

A few years ago, I spoke at a school in Wisconsin, giving presentations for the staff and the parents. I shared the Ugly Cookie story, just like I (almost) always do. Lots of people have heard that story over the years.
But Pete Hirt, the principal of the school, took it and ran with it.
Not long after my talk, a parent of one of the students was diagnosed with cancer. Pete and the community sprang into action to help raise money for the family. Pete suggested they do an "Ugly Cake Auction," in which people would be invited to decorate cakes in the ugliest manner possible. About 1,000 people descended upon the gym to bid on dozens of deliciously ugly cakes.
They raised $15,000.
Last night, I was invited back to be a part of an evening designed to Celebrate Family. I would again be speaking to the staff and parents, but also added to the agenda was a Barbarian Spaghetti dinner and an Ugly Cookie decorating contest. The goal was to give parents tips and ideas for stressing …

With summer saying sayonara, my speaking schedule is back into full swing. One of my favorite parts is talking to people afterwards, and hearing the neat things they do for fun with friends and family. In fact, many of the ideas I share in my presentations, including Sticky Cup, Pajama Run, and Spatula City are from audience members.
One of my fatal flaws is forgetting to write them down. I always think I'll remember them, but do I? Nope. Well I'm happy to report that I've been a bit more consistent of late, and wanted to share some recent gems: …

Earlier this month, Kim and I took the kids to the Wisconsin State Fair. As embarrassing as it is to admit, it was our first time in attendance, even though we've lived in Cheeseland for over 13 years. I am glad it only comes once a year, as I'm pretty sure we consumed a week's worth of calories in the one day we were there. Cream puffs, cheese curds, corn dogs, elephant ears...we didn't even scratch the surface of all the deep fried things we WANTED to try, but our shame quota could only be pushed so far.
You know it's been a nutritionally-challenged day when your clan devours a dinner at McDonald's because it's the closest thing you've had to real food all day.
Anyway, I'm not sure where the state-fair-fried-food-on-a-stick phenomenon got its start, but Wisconsin sure holds its own on variety. However, I did not see a deep fried cereal option. If I had, I'm not sure I could have resisted. Apparently deep fried breakfast cereal was debuted at the San Diego County Fair in 2012 by …

A giant one that's ten feet long, of course!
Banana splits are pretty good at thwarting Adultitis. But 10-foot banana splits have been known to give Adultitis the hives.
If you wanna make one for your next party, they seem pretty easy to put together. This tutorial uses a carpet tube and this one uses a simple rain gutter (both were covered in heavy duty aluminum foil.)
If you wanna go crazy, eat it for dinner.
If you wanna go easy on the waistline, try these Banana Split Bites instead.
Photo from OhHappyDay …

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